Vital Healthcare buys Perth-based hospital for A$13.5M

Vital Healthcare buys Perth-based psych hospital for
A$13.5 mln

By Paul McBeth

Aug. 11 (BusinessDesk) -
Vital Healthcare Property Trust, New Zealand’s largest
listed medical and healthcare property investor, has bought
a 31-bed psychiatric hospital in Perth, Western Australia,
for A$13.5 million, as it looks to beef up its exposure to
the resources-driven state economy.

The property
investor's manager, Vital Healthcare Management, said it has
unconditionally purchased the Marian Centre hospital in
Subiaco, Perth, which offers inpatient, outpatient services
and therapy programmes. The purchase price provides an
initial yield of about 8.5 percent, and will be funded from
Vital's existing bank facility, which it renewed last month
with an extra A$100 million, it said. Once the deal settles,
Vital will embark on a A$10.8 million redevelopment over the
coming year to more than double bed numbers to 66.

"This
acquisition aligns perfectly with our strategy to acquire
healthcare assets in established medical precincts and add
further value by creatign capacity to meet patient and
operator demand," chief executive David Carr said in a
statement. "We see this transaction as a catalyst for
further opportunities in the Western Australian market, wtih
Vital now having a diversified presence in all six
Australian states."

Units in the trust were unchanged at
$1.35, and have gained 5.5 percent this year, outpacing the
3.4 percent gain in the NZX All Index over the same period.
The stock is rated a 'hold' by four analyst recommendations
compiled by Reuters, with a median price target of
$1.39.

The hospital's operator will be Healthe Care, which
has entered into a new 20-year lease for the property, with
annual CPI reviews and market reviews every 10
years.

The Wellington-based BusinessDesk team led by former Bloomberg Asian top editor Jonathan Underhill and Qantas Award-winning journalist and commentator Pattrick Smellie provides a daily news feed for a serious business audience.

The whitebait fry - considered a delicacy by many - are the juveniles of five species of galaxiid, four of which are considered threatened or declining. The SMC asked freshwater experts for their views on the sustainability of the whitebait fishery and whether we're doing enough to monitor the five species of galaxiid that make up whitebait. More>>

The New Zealand government's accounts recorded a smaller-than-forecast deficit in the first four months of the fiscal year on a higher-than-expected inflow of corporate and goods and services tax. More>>

Steel & Tube Holdings, along with two other companies, will be prosecuted by the Commerce Commission following the regulator's investigation into seismic steel mesh, while Fletcher Building's steel division has been given a warning. More>>

• For car owners, a 13% reduction in the average Motor Vehicle levy • For businesses, a 10% reduction in the average Work levy, and changes to workplace safety incentive products • For employees, due to an increase in claims volumes and costs, a 3% increase in the Earners’ levy. More>>